A Altered Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Baritone (B Standard) tuning — fretboard diagram
A Altered in Baritone (B Standard) — Notes and Intervals
The A Altered scale is the ultimate dominant scale in jazz. On Guitar, its notes are A, Bb, C, C#, D#, F, G. It contains every possible altered tension, making it sound extremely dissonant and complex. It is used by professional improvisers to create maximum tension over a dominant chord before a satisfying resolution. Commonly used in Jazz, Fusion, Post-Bop, Contemporary. Notable players include John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea. Use over 7alt, 7#9, 7b9, 7#5, 7b5 chords. The definitive scale for altered dominant chords that resolve to minor. Play C Altered over C7alt resolving to Fm.
Notes: A, Bb, C, C#, D#, F, G
Intervals: 1P, 2m, 2A, 3M, 4A, 6m, 7m
Degrees: 1 b2 #3 4 #5 b6 b7
Formula: H-W-H-W-W-W-W
Number of notes: 7
Tuning: Baritone (B Standard) (B-F#-D-A-E-B)
Also known as: super locrian, diminished whole tone, pomeroy